One planet, called ‘Elaaden’, is flagged as a possible habitat zone, however the surface is hazardous (no water, extremely hot); you can be pointed in this direction in multiple ways, for example, a Krogan can request the Pathfinder to find a missing colony ship or you can just choose to land on the planet yourself and see what you find

On planets, one of your priorities is to scout for drop zones for your crew that drop “forward stations” that establishes a foothold for you

Planets can have multiple dangers like acid pools, burning wreckage, weather etc that can all kill you

Most planets have at least one major enemy base

Planets can have areas, encounters and “super bosses” that are too tough for you to handle at first, encouraging players to come back later

Since Andromeda is a new galaxy, Ryder can actively scan and discover things in the environments; that gets sent back for analysis and unlocks new technologies for the player

Scanning and discovering these things also allows you to obtain blueprints to craft weapons and armor for yourself

You can create a wide array of items, not just ammo types and weapon mods, items that haven’t been seen before in the Milky Way (thanks to new alien tech)

Some plot threads and missions lead you across multiple planets

Squadmates

Peebee: Asari squadmate shown in previous footage. Went off on her own after arriving on the Nexus and described as having a “bubbly personality”. She’s smart and not concerned with social norms and “niceties”.

Liam: Arrived with the Pathfinder, former police officer and described as having a “light attitude”, bringing levity to situations

The Tempest (Your Ship)

Important to harken back to the Normandy as it was a fan favorite

There are no loading screens as you move through the ship

Galaxy map returns but rather than piloting a mini ship on a map, it is more immersive, you select a planet, the game gives you sense of traveling towards that planet, and when you back out, you’re immediately at your destination

You don’t pilot the ship manually, but it feels seamless as you go from planet to planet and see them from your bridge getting closer in the window

They wanted a seamless experience from picking a planet to walking down to your cargo hold, hopping into the Nomad and landing on a planet. There is a landing sequence and you get off the ship. No more loading screens and instantly popping up on the surface of a planet.

Relationships/Characters

There are more relationships in the game than any other Bioware game (as they noted fans make a big emphasis on romance in the games)

The squadmate with the least amount of lines in Andromeda has more lines than the squadmate with the most amount of lines in ME3

Due to complications in the awakening process, your sibling won’t join you in combat but you can interact with them and build a relationship

Many of these dealings are optional, and discovering more about the Ryder family is a plot thread

BioWare is confident the details of this story are what differentiates it from a traditional “hero’s journey”

Loyalty missions return but they are not critical to the ending of the game; you can complete them after you complete the main story path for example

Emphasis that relationships don’t just culminate in a sex scene, but rather characters can just want to get in the sack, while others are interested in long term relationships and others still aren’t interested at all. Bioware wanted to capture more “shooting bottles with Garrus” moments in the game, of which there are plenty

Multiplayer

More evolved and refined form of ME3

Card based economy where you earn XP and credits

There are microtransactions but no real world money is required, you can unlock normally

You still set the map, enemy, as before but you can also activate modifiers that can give you decreased health (for greater reward) or more damage (less reward)

These custom missions give you a 3rd currency, “mission funds” which allow you directly purchase items and weapons vs the mercy of random card packs; however these items are only available for a limited time in the store and can change often

In MP, you play as the “Apex Force”, a militia strike team from the Nexus

Different enemies require you to use different tactics (some are shield heavy, some use heavy biotics etc)

Playing MP will have advantages for the single player but it absolutely does not affect the ending of the game

New “Prestige” mechanic added: With several types of characters, you earn regular XP and prestige XP. The prestige XP goes into every character of that ‘type’, for example ‘tanky’ characters. Earning enough prestige can grant you added health for all tank characters, etc.

Choices

No more Paragon/Renegade system

They want more nuance and subtlety and giving the player more opportunity to express themselves

You can agree or disagree with someone without being punished or cornered into a paragon or renegade choice

Dialogue option tones: heart, head, professional and casual.

These don’t affect you or sway a meter one way or another, rather they allow you freedom without worrying about unintended consequences

“Narrative actions” (previously “interrupts) return but rather than giving a “red”=bad or “blue”=good choice, it can say “shoot”, leaving more ambiguity to your choice

The future

Mass Effect: Andromeda leaves the door open for more games (obviously)

New game+ mode allows you to change your gender if you choose

BioWare is coy about multiple endings; “it’s a suprise”, “it’s different than the trilogy”

We will learn more before December 1st, though, thanks to Game Informer’s ongoing coverage. The first story reveals that loyalty missions for companions are coming back from Mass Effect 2. Creative Director Mac Walters said:

I loved the loyalty missions. As a writer, one of the things I loved was the freedom to say ‘I know this character is coming along,’ so they can carry a lot of the narrative. That made my job easier, but it also made it more fun, because I could tell a more specific story in one of those missions.

The big difference between this and ME2, where you did a loyalty mission and that all impacted the ending, is that they’re much more optional in this case. If you don’t want to engage with them, you don’t have to. If you want engage with them after the critical path is done, you can do that.

The Deluxe Edition of the game (priced at $69.99) is up for pre-order on Amazon and some of the main features were shared.

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